Latitudinal variation in South American marsupial biology

BIRNEY, ELMER; MONJEAU, ADRIAN

Predators with pouches. The biology of carnivorous marsupials

SCIRO Publishing

Lugar: Collingwood; Año: 2003; p. 297 - 317

We studied latitudinal patterns of species diversity, trophic guild structure, habitat use, body size and use of tail in South American marsupials. We regressed ratios of biological characters on temperature and precipitation parameters as surrogates for latitudinal changes in the physical environment. Our results indicate that mean minimum temperature is positively related with species diversity, the proportion of frugivores, the percentage of marsupials with a long prehensile tail, and the proportion of arboreal and scansorial marsupials forms, and is negatively correlated with the proportion of carnivores, the percentage of marsupials with incrassated tails, the proportion of terrestrial forms, and the proportion of small-sized marsupials. Variability in temperature has higher explanatory power than variability of precipitation. Major life forms in South American marsupials show latitudinal patterns.